


Plant A Tree Together

by wrcdiane



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Stardew Valley Fusion, Attempt at Humor, Childhood Friends, F/M, Heavy Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29706576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrcdiane/pseuds/wrcdiane
Summary: After life really messed her up, Byleth the broke writer arrives at the farm. She plans to start a new life as a farmer, but she isn’t sure if she will truly stay.Yet, Byleth never expects to meet a rowdy bunch of villagers that will definitely become her joy and nightmare. And the familiar golden boy Byleth used to call her best friend has totally changed.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Glenn Fraldarius/Ingrid Brandl Galatea
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Plant A Tree Together

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to [@mitsuboo](https://twitter.com/morimitsuboo) for helping me come up with the title!!
> 
> You don’t need to know anything about Stardew to read this one.
> 
> No story plan for this fic. No update schedule. Simply jotting down a headcanon that has been screaming in my head that would otherwise torment me to death while the professor droned on with very unfunny jokes that vaguely reminded me of Alois and Dimitri’s sense of humor. Therefore, no attempt at correcting my grammar at any time. My main focus is still [This Time, Let Me Find You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26310400/chapters/64064065).
> 
> I plan to make this fic happy dandy but, you know me, any of my attempts at comedy always lands on some sad shit. Then it's angsty again.
> 
> And my dog Lucas is the hero in this story again jslkdjfoerj. Why? Because it’s supposed to be his 3rd birthday on March 1st but the dumb dog died during the lockdown and I just want to write another thing for him. So yeah, again, another story for me dog.
> 
> A Blaiddyd Rex in this fic and all my other fic is a golden retriever.

Everyone from Embarr thought Byleth was only going to stay in the valley for a couple of months, weeding the field and plant some spinach that probably would die before the harvest, knowing how little agricultural skills Byleth possessed. Yet when the blue-haired 25-year-old packed up even her late mother’s piano along with everything in her very clustered apartment and rented the biggest possible V-Haul with her dear old Hilda Accord tied to the back, her friends from college who came to grab coffee before her supposed vacation finally realized she was moving for real.

Was she? To be honest, even now, as Byleth finally drives out of the angry city and its angry traffic, crammed with angry drivers and their angry vehicles, shouted by angry pedestrians though they were totally ignoring the light, Byleth still doesn’t know. Maybe she told everyone possible just to make it hard for her to change her mind and retreat back to the city like a coward.

Not that she can afford to move again though, but Byleth is sure Jeralt would bring her back if she ever says the word. Dad is always Dad.

Byleth tries to tell herself that all the nerves she’s feeling now is excitement. It must be. It has to.

It is roughly an eight-hour drive from Enbarr to Fhirdiad, a very, very ancient town that used to be Fódlan’s capital before… well, Byleth didn’t pay much attention in her history class.

But Byleth can see why now. Once she crosses the Adrestia-Fearghus state border, everything is farmland, farmland, and farmland. Back in the old days with no electricity and things, it is hard to imagine how those people even planted anything when 8 months of the year are basically winter. Lucas, the 2 months old Blaiddyd Rex Byleth found in a dumpster mere weeks ago, and his very soaked up pee pad smell horrible. Byleth has to stop to change the dog pad, and she needs gas (it’s cheaper in Faerghus) and a bottle of Crimson Flower coffee, a brand owned by the Arundel family commonly seen in Enbarr.

But she hasn’t expected the shop assistance to basically growl at her.

“We ain’t sell no Arundel shit,” he says. “Only Azure Moon in Faerghus!” The clerk points at a whole shelf of coffee packed in blue, a single crescent decorating the can.

_Wow, that is professional._ Byleth grabs a Moon, unsurprised that the store doesn’t support Wyvern Pay. She puts back her five-year-old yPhone and takes out her card, which still has 501 dollars and 21 cents in.

Why does she remember? Because when you’re that broke, you’re extra aware of how little money you possess.

She cracks open the can, takes a sip. Hm. She likes it.

Byleth wonders why the clerk seems to hate Arundel so much. She keeps seeing Volkhard von Arundel’s campaign ads everywhere on the highway (“Volk for Governor!” with the guy’s picture and a big smile that all politicians don). Probably just a personal political view. It only makes sense that Faerghus sells mainly Faerghus products.

Byleth isn’t a fan of politics, and she doesn’t care which politician sits in the office. They’re all the same.

Lucas is done peeing. Byleth picks him up, grabs him in her left arm while her right holds the blue coffee, and gets back inside the car again. Sothis, Fearghus _is_ cold. March is already summer in Enbarr.

Four in the afternoon, the V-Haul, the woman, and the dog finally see the exit sign to Fhirdiad.

_Exit 5_

_Fhirdiad_

_Welcome to the Valley!_

The first thing Byleth notices at the bus station is, again, Arundel’s campaign poster. Doodled, however. Someone painted Arundel’s hair all plastic bright yellow, a few of his teeth missing (painted black), and a huge dick across the guy’s face. On the line, “Volk for governor!”, someone (maybe the same person) crossed out “governor” and wrote down “prison.”

And apparently, no one in the village bothered to take it down. That conveys a message.

At the station, a man with black hair and another with a shit-eating grin await her.

Lucas jumps off the car with an excited bark, followed by his human.

“Oh hello beautiful! You must be Byleth, right?” the redhead with a grin then winks. “I’m Sylvain. Sylvain José Gautier, the bartender, also the car fixer. How about I make you a drink tonight? Also, my door is always open for our new resident. We can discuss wine and that sexy car of yours—”

“Sylvain!” Felix rolls his eyes.

“It’s a Hilda Accord,” Byleth blinks, not understanding why Felix sounds so scandalized. The most ordinary car in Fódlan. Hers is also black—more ordinary. Byleth always mistook other people’s Hilda for her own at any parking lot. Once, after she visited her mom at the hospital, Byleth spent half an hour trying to unlock “her car” until the owner showed up and made her totally embarrassed, so after that, she slammed a huge “Sothis is watching you” poster on the side of her car.

“A car’s sexiness always depends on the driver,” Sylvain winks again, but when Felix is almost ready to strangle him, the redhead finally drops the flirting, “Well, this is Felix for you. The carpenter.”

“I am perfectly capable of introducing myself to people,” Felix huffs.

“Well, yes, but you’re obviously not doing so, so I—”

Byleth almost feels embarrassed, standing here like an idiot while two villagers who clearly have known each other for years banter. Maybe moving here is a terrible plan.

_Relax, By. You were born here. You have every right to come back._ She tells herself.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you two.” Byleth blinks. “But I thought the chief of this place was gonna meet me here? Like, small community new resident and chief bonding thing?”

The two old friends stop their teasing (Sylvain) and angry yelling (Felix) at once, staring at her. It is getting even more embarrassing. But did she say something moronic? This place is indeed small enough for everyone to know everyone, so why isn't the chief here? Or is she too stuck-up like a city folk full of stereotypes?

“Well, it’s the 21st century, and we’re not a clan, so there’s no chief,” Sylvain says with a smile, putting his arms behind his head.

“The mayor, then?” Byleth asks.

Felix knows what she’s talking about, though. “If you mean the boar, then sorry to disappoint you. My old man is kinda doing his job now, seeing how unfitting the boar is right now.”

“Woah, Felix, that is kinda harsh to say about Di—”

“The old man is waiting for you at the farm,” Felix cuts Sylvain off before turning to the west, walking off without saying another word.

_Huh._

.

Dr. Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius somehow found the valley ideal for his biology study, and for some reason, he also became the community leader for the time being, and the guy likes the pseudo mayor job a lot, too. Like, taking care of people. Maybe it’s a dad thing.

“The house is in good shape. Mercedes helped clean it up,”—Byleth thinks Felix mutters something like “thank the goddess Annette wasn’t here”—“No erosion. All the floor and wood panels are in good shape. Some leaks on the roof here and there though, but Felix already fixed them,” Rodrigue turned the lights on. The dim yellow light flickers before going off with a _crack_.

“Ah shit,” Felix grumbles. “Did you not fix it, Sylvain?”

“Felix, language,” Rodrigue warns him, which his son totally ignored.

Byleth realizes Sylvain is not only the bartender and car fixer; he sometimes does electric work when mechanics from the city are too lazy to come over.

“C’mon, Fe. The circuit is too old for me to really do anything. We still have to wait for the real professionals to come and fix this place up properly.”

“It’s alright. Not that I can afford to hire professionals right now,” and not that Byleth is entirely determined to stay, either, so why bother to fix everything?

“But thankfully, the plumbing is good,” Rodrigue says. “I’ll bring you some candles later today, but last I checked, the oven still worked perfectly fine… but just in case, I’ll bring you firewood, too.”

_Perfect_. Now she is living like a caveman.

Byleth doesn’t hate the house, to be honest. Although vague, she has fond memories of this place. A beautiful collie that Byleth chased around every day, picking up poop after the sheep with a boy, whose name she shamefully can’t recall, and sleep with rabbits and the golden boy’s hand in her own. The afternoons in the fall season, raking leaves with Jeralt (though all that Byleth did was to make a mess because she found it funny when her father got frustrated) and later the barbeque party with the boy and his family; Sitri made the best Apple chai.

Where is he, though? She never met Sylvain or Felix before, either. Did he move out while others moved in?

But that was all before Mom fell ill and Jeralt decided to move to the city, so his wife could get the best medical treatment from the best oncologists. This used to be Sitri’s farm, passed down from Sitri’s mother and grandmother and beyond, and five years ago, it suddenly became hers.

She was five when they left. Two decades have passed.

Jeralt asked Byleth what she was planning to do with the farm, and at first, she said she was gonna sell it out of spite. The goddess decided to take her angelic mom away for no reason, and Byleth was angry, and somehow, she found it a good idea to lash out at Jeralt. She really was an ass.

How can Byleth forget the boy’s name? Time really has messed up her brain. Or the alcohol. Or the drugs she occasionally took. Or the couple of concussions she received during her senior year. She blames the goddess.

Well, nice house! Byleth decides to think about something else. Now, she is back as a loser from Enbarr, not even sure if she’ll return to the city as a loser from Fhirdiad again.

“It’s nice to have you back,” Rodrigue sighs once they return to the porch. “I still recall your mother and father walking you in the field, picking cucumber flowers and catching beetles.”

“Wait, hold on,” Sylvain widens his eyes. “You’re Jeralt and Sitri’s daughter?”

“Yeah?” Byleth cocks her head. Do they not know?

“Here we all thought you’re the city folk who bought a farm just because you thought it’d be fun,” Felix says.

“Oh,” Rodrigue lifts a brow. “Did I not mention it to you two?”

“Senile already? You certainly didn’t tell anyone,” Felix rolls his eyes.

Byleth finally asks Felix and Sylvain, “You know my parents? Why did I not remember any of you?”

“We stayed in Fraldarius for a few years, and when we were back, your family already moved,” Rodrigue says. “Sylvain’s family was abroad for a decade.”

“I didn’t even know a place called Fhirdiad existed until my father took me back!” Sylvain grins, though something in his eyes tell Byleth it wasn’t some very pleasant family history.

“And your father’s melons are still a legend,” Felix sounds like he finds this legend ridiculous.

“Well, now,” Rodrigue brings himself back from the reverie. “Do you want to rename the farm? It can be a good new start.”

“What’s its name now?”

“Sitri’s Farm,” says Rodrigue. “Your grandparents named it after their only daughter.”

A lump chokes up in Byleth’s throat.

“I’ll keep the name,” Byleth answers before going over to the truck. She needs to get the luggage off first.

But there is one more thing she is curious about.

“Who took care of this place when we were away?”

Rodrigue smiles, “Dimitri. And before that, it was his parents.”

“Alright. I’ll make sure I send Dimitri a gift and pay him a visit some time.”

.

Byleth remembers the place had the best Sakura, the pedals falling off like rain in spring. She and the boy would play in the grass with an imaginary friend called Cherry Fairy.

With the help of three villagers, Byleth finishes moving in less than an hour. Rodrigue leaves to help her drop off the truck in town, and when everyone has left, Byleth finds Felix still standing at her front door, a cigarette in hand.

“Felix, did you drop anything?” she asks.

The man with dark hair turns to look at her. “You want to meet with Dimitri.” And that tone sounds as if Byleth did something wrong.

“…yes?” she’s unsure how she offended the grumpy guy.

“Don’t.”

“Why? He took care of my family farm for years.”

“If you were just some idiots from the city coming here to realize a pastoral dream, I wouldn’t even bother to tell you this,” Felix huffs. “The boar is not what you think—the charitable good neighbor shit. If your plan’s set in stone, though, try to keep a distance when you two meet.”

“…okay?” Byleth says with her brows furrowed. _So this Dimitri is the chief/mayor/boar person?_

Felix gives a grunt that may or may not be approval and leaves.

_What a village._

After she is all alone again, Byleth walks out of the house with Lucas running around excitedly. This place might be good for the dog, though. He hates the leash. He’s scared of the elevator. And he wants nothing but to run like a wild animal.

Byleth makes her way to the corner of the farm. She remembers that particular place because Sitri kept talking about going back to the Sakura garden all the time even during her final moments. She kept retelling the story of her 16th birthday, when Sitri’s parents planted her a tree, as all children of the family did when they were about to come of age. Byleth never got her own because they never returned, and it was Sitri’s biggest regret.

She stops in front of a tree. Sitri’s tree.

“Hey Mom,” she says. “I’m back.”

**Author's Note:**

> I found Lucas in a dumpster, so sorry buddy, you’re from a dumpster again.
> 
> [My twitter](https://twitter.com/wrcdiane)


End file.
